Tag Archives: nerve

One of the most common causes of neck, shoulder, arm, and hand pain is a “pinched nerve in the neck”. A pinched nerve is medical terminology (formerly doctor slang) for pressure on a nerve or nerve compression.

A pinched nerve occurs when too much pressure is applied to a nerve by
surrounding tissues — such as bones, cartilage, muscles or tendons. This
pressure disrupts the nerve’s function, causing pain, tingling,
numbness or weakness.

A pinched nerve can occur at several sites in your body. A herniated
disk in your lower spine, for example, may put pressure on a nerve root,
causing pain that radiates down the back of your leg (sciatica).
Likewise, a pinched nerve in your wrist can lead to pain and numbness in
your hand and fingers (carpal tunnel syndrome).

Me: A pinched nerve in the neck is usually the result of a herniated or bulging cervical disc, vertebral subluxation (misalignment), degenerative disc disease, facet syndrome, or moderate to severe sprain/strain from say a whiplash or sports injury (think football). This can happen all at once from a trauma or slowly over time from sitting in an awkward position at your workstation, poor sleeping habits (flat pillow with no support), or hobby’s like bowling, playing a musical instrument, knitting, or gardening.

These days, just about everyone spends a lot of time on the computer. Our chiropractic clinic is located in the SF Financial District so almost all our patients sit at a desk for very long hours performing repetitive tasks with the upper extremities on the computer. Many then go home and do more of the same. And a very high percentage of these people already had misalignments in the neck from years of school, studying, sports and life. The stress of working at the computer all day is just another layer of the onion that can accelerate the degnerative process and lead to pinched cervical nerves.

So, what can be done to prevent pinched nerves from happening and what is the best treatment once they do happen?

Well, I am a chiropractor, and I specialize in the treatment of neck, arm, and hand pain. So my opinion is biased owards chiropractic care and nonsurgical spinal decompression. Of course, most of the patients I treat are already experiencing pain and dysfunction. So, our primary focus is to treat the problem and get some relief. We do this using a combination of chiropractic adjustments to the neck, shoulder, arms and hands. We incorporate massage and stretching into the mix, as well as custom low tech exercises. If needed, we use deep tissue laser therapy to reduce inflammation and pain levels.

If a pinched nerve is due to a herniated or bulging disc and the patient does not respond to conventional chiropractic as described above than we will consider cervical spinal decompression with the DRX9000c. The DRX9000c is designed and built to treat cervical disc herniations naturally.

Sometimes we use a combination of everything we have to achieve favorable outcomes. Our 20years+ experience comes in handy when it comes to making decisions on pinched nerve treatment.

Along side the treatment we teach our patients how to prevent what we treat by making better lifestyle choices. Education on things like ergonomics, sleeping postures, nutrition, supplements, exercise/stretching, meditation and relaxation techniques are some of the things we weave into the treatment process.

If you would like to find out if you are a candidate for treatment at our San Francisco Chiropractic Clinic please call 415-392-2225. Ask for a complimentary consultation.

I am a Chiropractor in the San Francisco Financial District specializing in chronic neck, arm and hand pain. I also treat herniated discs using spinal decompression, whiplash, sports injuries, headaches, and Fibromyalgia. My clinic is certified in the use of Deep Tissue Laser Therapy with the LiteCure LCT-1000 for conditions such as shoulder pain, TMJ and Plantar Fasciitis. I have been in practice for over 20 years.

We have been providing treatment for Fibromyalgia (FM) in San Francisco since 1992.

Neurotransmission
is the method by which nerves “speak” to each other so impulses can be sent
from one part of your body to the brain and back. For example, when you touch a
hot plate by accident, it doesn’t take long before you quickly let go of the
plate. The reason you let go quickly is because of neurotransmission. Certain
types of neurons or nerves (called afferents) bring information to the central
nervous system where the information is processed and then signals are
transferred back to the target site (such as your hand touching the hot plate)
by different nerves (called efferents) telling you to immediately let go of
that hot object. It’s like the flow of traffic into a city during rush hour.
People work all day and then drive in the opposite direction on their way home
(afferents in the morning going in the city or “brain” and efferents in the
evening bringing new information home). This “give and take” process of
information coming in, being processed and going out helps coordinate our
bodily functions. This allows us to constantly adapt to surrounding changes in
temperature, stress, noise, and so on.

Each neuron has as many as 1500
connections from other neurons, but they don’t actually touch one another.
Rather, there are “synapses” where nerve impulses stimulate the release of
calcium and neurotransmitters, which either inhibit or excite another neuron
and each neuron may be connected to many other neurons. If the total excitatory
stimuli are greater than the inhibitory stimuli, that neuron will “fire” and
create a new connection resulting in an action (like dropping the hot plate).

Okay, sorry for the enthusiastic
description and details of neurotransmission. More importantly, how does all
this relate to fibromyalgia? A new study
(published May 14, 2012 in NATURE by scientists at Weill Cornell
Medical College)
discovered that a single protein (alpha 2 delta), “…exerts a spigot-like
function controlling the volume of neurotransmitters and other chemicals that
flow between the synapses of brain neurons.” This study shows how brain cells
“talk to each other” through these synapses relaying feelings, thoughts, and
actions and how this powerful protein plays a crucial role in regulating
effective communication in the brain. They found that if they added or
decreased this single protein (alpha 2 delta), then the speed of
neurotransmission increased or decreased by opening or closing the calcium
channels that trigger neurotransmission release.

The relationship between calcium and
neurotransmission has been known for 50 years, but how to “turn on or off” the
volume is a new discovery. They hope this finding will help in the design of
new medications that will help regulate the neurotransmission in the brain,
thus help reduce the increased pain perception found in people suffering from
fibromyalgia.

Our aim in sharing this information
with you is to keep you informed with what is on the cutting edge of research
as we’ve said many times before, a “team” of health care provision is the BEST
way to manage FM including chiropractic and primary care!

If you, a friend or family member
requires care for FM, we sincerely appreciate the trust and confidence shown by
choosing our services!

I am a Chiropractor in the San Francisco Financial District specializing in chronic neck, arm and hand pain. I also treat herniated discs using spinal decompression, whiplash, sports injuries, headaches, and Fibromyalgia. My clinic is certified in the use of Deep Tissue Laser Therapy with the LiteCure LCT-1000 for conditions such as shoulder pain, TMJ and Plantar Fasciitis. I have been in practice for over 20 years.